Reactor performance, including the ability to efficiently generate electricity from a steam generator, may be influenced or otherwise affected by a variety of design considerations. For example, the number, length, and wall thickness of steam generator tubes may affect the decay heat removal and flow rate associated with a steam generator system. Similarly, the overall volume and wall thickness associated with a containment structure may determine, in part, a normal operating pressure or an allowable system pressure of a power plant.
In addition to design considerations related to efficiency, the various system components associated with the power plant must often meet strict safety requirements and regulatory codes. Power plants which operate with liquid and/or steam contained under pressure are typically designed to withstand pressures which may be in excess of normal operating conditions in order to keep the components from failing during an over-pressurization event or accident.
Invariably, the safety requirements and regulatory codes often result in a more robust design of the components, which tends to result in an increased amount of material used in the manufacture of certain components. As the size or weight of the components increase, this similarly increases the associated costs of manufacturing and transportation during construction of the reactor module, thus adding to the overall cost of the power plant and the electricity that it is designed to generate.
The present invention addresses these and other problems.